A Little Chat About Pearl and Her Friends

Teri and I (Kara) are feverishly getting ready for the Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg, Virginia, the first week in March—making kits, gathering threads, and writing patterns. Since many hands make light work, I asked a friend to come over and help me put together thread kits. I was explaining that there were a few different types of pearl cottons in the kit along with the floss. She mentioned that she hadn't even heard of pearl cotton only floss. That spawned an idea for a short post on pearl cotton and its variations, along with how it compares to floss and wool thread. Many of us who have been stitching a while use all these threads on a regular basis, but if you are new to stitching, this is for you!

This picture shows floss on the left then pearl 8, 5, 3, and wool (Dried Sage by Weeks DyeWorks)

Embroidery floss is something most of have used and are familiar with, even if we just used it for those lovely friendship bracelets back in the day. It is plentiful and relatively inexpensive as threads go. DMC is the brand that is most popular and economical. It is usually 6-stranded and when used in stitching, is best separated by those strands in order to get a smoother stitch. You can use 1-6 strands in your needle, depending on the look you want to achieve.

Here you can see the 6 strands

Embroidery floss

Pearl cotton (or Perle depending on where you live) is great to use because it is not stranded and you can just stick it in your needle and go—no separating the strands. The most used sizes are 12, 8, 5, and 3; the larger number means the smaller diameter or thinner thread. (Occasionally, you can find it in 16 as well.) You can vary the look you are trying to achieve by using the different sizes. To fit the larger diameter threads through your needle, you will need to use a needle with a larger eye. We tend to use chenille needles ranging from #26-#18, depending on the thread. Teri is going to talk about needles in the next post.

Pearl 8

Pearl 5

Pearl 3

From left to right 8, 5, and 3

Weeks and The Gentle Art (just floss and wool) are two companies we like for threads, whether it is floss or pearl or even wool. Their products are hand-dyed, which gives a great variation in your stitching, but not so much that it is overly noticeable. They also come on these little cards, which makes it a little less likely to tangle. All you do is cut the bottom loops, and you instantly have the perfect length for stitching.

Wool thread is lovely to use as well and will give a completely different texture to your stitching. It is perfect for things that you might want to appear to be fuzzy or if you are stitching on wool, it will blend in beautifully. It lends a great contrast when used with other fibers such as floss or pearl.

Another popular company for pearl cotton is Valdani. Their pearl comes in different sizes and in a multitude of colors, both solid and variegated. It is very economical as the little balls go a long way.

Our curated In the Garden set by Valdani

Lastly, another company that we like to use is House of Textile Arts (Tentakulum) Painters Threads. These threads are dyed in gorgeous unique color-ways, and their names are based on famous painters.

There are many other thread companies out there that offer pearl cotton, but these are just a few of our favorites. All of these companies offer other fibers as well, and each fiber is going to give a different look and texture to your project. Below we have listed a few sources for these products and hope you will be inspired to try them all!

Weeks DyeWorks, Valdani, and The Gentle Art

Primitive Homespun and Needleworks

Painter's Threads

Threadnuts

Block of the Month 16—Pinecone

Thank you for your interest in our Flora and Fauna blocks! They are no longer free but will be part of a future quilt pattern.

My, how time has flown! I (Kara) can't believe that it has been over a year since we started our Flora and Fauna of Germany stitch-along. It seems like just yesterday that I was walking the trails in our little German village for the first time, full of wonder at the natural beauty that I was seeing. Our first block was the Butterfly, back in August of 2017. 

Our first block!

We have stitched 15 blocks since then, and we have come to the end of the series. It's a little sad, as we have enjoyed putting these blocks together for you. But all good things come to an end, and we have our last block ready, with the decidedly winter symbol—the pinecone. 

Cotton Block

I began by appliquéing the pinecone shape onto my background using a piece of fabric that contained different shades of brown. It is a simple shape with just a few, gentle, curves—the details are added with the stitching. Using my white marking pencil, I traced the half-circle shapes onto the appliqué, using the pattern as a guide.

Marked and ready to stitch.

Using a variegated brown pearl cotton, I stem stitched the marked lines, working from the top to the bottom. I love the texture a variegated thread lends to my stitching, so I tend to gravitate towards those types of threads. I used a Valdani #12 in this instance.

Looking more pinecone-like

It started to look more like a pinecone, but I felt that it needed a little something more to make the petals or scales stand out. Using one strand of a dark brown floss, I added a stem stitch directly underneath the previous stitching.

Here I have done just the top row. Can you tell a difference?

All the scales have a little shading. It's just a little detail, but it adds a lot.

Next was the branch, and that was just a simple chain stitch for the branches, and some straight stitches for the needles. Hooping the block. when stitching the branches and needles for both blocks, helped to eliminate puckering.

Hooping helps!

A #5 pearl gives some dimension to the branch.

Close-up

The finished cotton block

Stitches and Threads Used (Cotton Block)

Pinecone—Valdani #12 pearl,P12, stem stitch 

                   Gentle Arts floss, 1 strand, Espresso Bean, stem stitch (for shading)

Branch—Painters Threads, #5 pearl, Friederich, chain stitch

Needles—Gentle Art, Simply wool, Blue Spruce

Wool Block

For the wool block, I wanted to use the wool in layers to mimic the look of the scales. After I glued the pattern to freezer paper, I cut it into 6 pieces and ironed those pieces to my wool. For all the pieces but the top one, I cut straight across the scales in order to have something to stitch down. (See the picture below to show how I did that.)

There is a piece missing in this picture, but you can get the idea.

Starting at the bottom, I stitched just the top of each set of scales and then layered the next one on top of the previously stitched scale.

The first 4 layers

The finished pinecone

I used the same #5 pearl cotton for the branches, and a slightly thicker wool/silk blend for the needles. 

I tried to vary the needle angle and size as I went along.

The finished wool block

Stitches and Threads Used (Wool Block)

Branch—Painters Threads, #5 pearl, Friederich, chain stitch

Needles—Thread Gatherer, Sheeps Silk (wool/silk blend), Dark Forest

There you have it! The final block in our series and I think this was the fastest block yet. You can download all the blocks by clicking below in case you may have missed any. Have you made any of the blocks? Please email us pictures of your blocks  or post them on our Facebook page.

Stay tuned for our reveal of all the blocks put together and a special chance for those who have participated!!

From Chaos to Order

I (Teri) am a person of piles—piles of papers, piles of "to do" items, piles of projects. It is a rule in our house: Don't mess with my piles! My right-brained system of organization depends on seeing something in order to remember to complete the task involved. Mail that needs to be answered goes on a pile. It may be an inch deep, but I know where it is. (In all honesty, this was probably one of the hardest things my husband had to learn about me, as he is just the opposite. It's true what they say about those attractions.)

When we moved this summer, part of the dream of our new home was a roomy space to house my studio. I actually had a fairly large room in our other house, but as you will see, my "stuff" exceeded my ability to keep it organized. Who are we kidding; I just didn't stay on top of it! Every now and then, it would even get to be more than I could handle, and I would do a total overhaul. But not often enough. With some trepidation, I will share a peek of my OLD sewing room mess, so you can see where I started.

My cutting table and sewing cabinet are piled with projects—at least three different things
I was working on at the time. Not very neat piles, either!

A dresser full of fabric, baskets of supplies and unfinished projects,
a suitcase full of quilts for a lecture, and bags of class materials

Needless to say, I rarely worked at this desk! 

The closet housed two book shelves, one shelf for books, and the rest for fabric.
Attempts were made to organize by color, which would last until I started pulling fabric for a new project.

Packing up that mess was my biggest job in preparing to move. I organized as I packed, did a bit of purging (not much!), and vowed to maintain some physical sense of order in my new studio. We were able to determine how the room would be designed, so I really would have no excuses, and my husband, an organization guru, was all about helping me to get the room in order. Maybe it was because he would be sharing the room with me; he has his office in one corner of the room. Whatever his driving force—helpfulness or self-preservation—his help was much appreciated. (I have a gem, for sure!)

It took me two months to get to a functional point, and I still have a way to go, but what a delight to have room for everything to have a place. Oh, and it's pretty awesome to know where everything is when I need it! 

You can see I have at least twice the area now, so no excuses. Now that I've shared my embarrassing mess, perhaps you will be my accountability in staying organized. ☺

Here is a short tour of my new space. The view on the left is from the doorway at the top of the stairs.

The sewing part of my studio—I love my Martelli cutting table!

That beat-up oak dresser got a coat (or three) of chalk paint and now houses vintage treasures, like embroidery and doilies, as well as batting, flannels, and muslin. Atop is an organizer holding charm packs, ribbons, and miscellaneous necessities.
The bin, bottom right, holds my quilt hoop and some UFOs that I plan to finish: in clear view as a reminder to work on them!

My favorite part is this peg board, inspired by Jan Vaine and her sister, Jo Cridge, from Graham Cracker Collection.
It is perfect for organizing my embroidery threads and ribbons, so they are in clear view when I am matching materials for a new block. What an advantage to have it all in front of me. Well, maybe not all, but a lot of it! On the bookshelf to the right are several bins of threads that didn't lend themselves to being hung, like Valdani and DMC.

Another ancient book shelf that I rejuvenated with chalk paint holds buttons, pin cushions, light box, and boxes of patterns.

My cutting table butts up to my sewing table. I have tons of light, but I always add a few more Ott lights in critical locations. One can never have too much light! In the nook in the corner, I have a table and chairs, where I can plan projects, sit and appliqué, assemble kits, or whatever. The table currently holds a pile of quilts that need to be hung. The back wall is a design wall, and hooks on the wall hold my project bags.

My specially requested twelve-foot closet is a dream! All those wire baskets that had been out in the room before are now behind doors. And lined, so things don't fall through the wire. With the extra room, we got another short set to stack, so I didn't have to stuff them to overflowing.

My husband was sure that it would be better for me to have shelves than to use the old bookshelves for fabric, so he installed eight-foot shelving and lined them for my stash. We have no secrets about the quantity of materials I "need."
Did I mention that I married a real gem?

Baskets hold silks, wool, mailing envelopes, ribbon, fancy fabrics, and hand-dyes.
The plastic drawers to the right of the baskets have scraps, organized by color.

We had a built-in desk installed for our computers. I still haven't discovered the box that holds my keyboard, so I've been solely using my laptop. We haven't yet hung all our artwork, but we adorned one wall with some of our old record albums.

And here is my gem, working in his office. I wasn't kidding when I stated that he would have a corner of the room for his office space. Wasn't I generous to give him so much room? Just kidding. I'm sure you've guessed who the generous one is!

I am learning that when my surfaces are not filled with piles, they are far more useful. Like when you get a phone call asking about cutting lace for tables at a wedding reception. How nice not to have to spend a half hour moving piles. Now, I can hide them in that twelve-foot closet!! 

Kidding, again. I hope...